The reason God selected Israel to be his chosen nation was not so they could keep the revelation and knowledge of God to themselves, but so they could share it with the world. "... in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:3) God's ultimate redemptive purpose was always global and international. "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:12) Peter explains further what this means: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) The nature of their priesthood was to serve as ambassadors to the nations with the purpose of declaring the praises of God who has called us out of darkness, into his light. All of this is present in the words of Psalm 67. The Psalmist has recovered the very purpose for Israel's blessing - to be a blessing to the world and to make the name of the Lord great among the nations so that they too might praise his name and rejoice in his salvation. God's purpose and plan is unchangeable, therefore all of this is true for the Church today.
But notice something - the chief goal is not to simply do missions and evangelism. Rather, the chief goal is worship. As John Piper reminds us, "Missions exists because worship doesn't." He explains that missions is simply the necessary means to achieve the goal.
But at the same time, if worship is evangelism's chief end, then it only make sense that worship itself should bear witness of the gospel of Christ. As the people of God sing together, they are being witnesses of the majesty of God, the wonder of the cross of Christ and the hope of resurrection. The question then is this: Does our congregational singing bear witness to these truths? This speaks not just to what we sing but to how we sing. Timothy Keller, speaking on John Calvin's views of worship, points out, "The “core commitment” of Calvin’s corporate worship was his rediscovery of the biblical gospel of unmerited and free grace. God’s grace comes to us as a word to believe, rather than as a deed to be performed."[1]
That may appear to be an obvious statement, but so much of what is called "worship" in the church comes across as a deed to be performed rather than a word to be believed. How many see showing up for service or playing their instrument skillfully as deeds to be performed? Certainly, our attendance and the quality of our musicianship is important, but if we see these as what makes our worship acceptable, then we are teaching a false Gospel of works! The matters pertaining to attendance and skill find their proper place when we understand them to be responses to all that God in Christ Jesus has done on our behalf. The question then is which one are we communicating to those who do not know Christ? Are they hearing the gospel in the music and lyrics of the songs we sing? Is there clear evidence in of Gospel joy in the demeanor of the worshipers? Corporate worship services are primarily for God's people, but what makes us God's people ought to be central to how we worship. We should be worshiping God in a manner that bids the lost peoples of the world to put their hope in Christ and to sing with us.
[1] Ashton, Rev. Mark; Hughes, R. Kent; Keller, Timothy (2010-05-05). Worship by the Book (p. 208). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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